Chapter 50

Zhou Yan stared directly at that elderly man, as his hands, heart and Blade’s Menace could be unleashed in an instant!

This man who had ascended into the third rank within the realm of the Blade’s Enforcer and had already awakened his Blade’s Menace—the hand of the Grand Elder, Zhou Wuji—was completely unable to shield himself from the extremely potent heavy Bloodlust coming from Silver Frost.

However, Zhou Yan noticed some people gradually walking out of the courtyard.

Zhou Momo, Zhou Gucheng, Zhou Bi, Zhou Shan, Zhou Lingyao, Zhou Liang, Zhou Yao…

These people were not the pupils of the infamous Ten geniuses. They were merely regular pupils of low reputation from the minor branch of the Zhou family. The clothes they clad on their backs were tattered and torn.

However, their gaze was completely focused on Zhou Yan. These were gazes of excitement, admiration, respect, and… hope.

Those were eyes filled to the brim with sincere feelings of endless hope.

They were hoping for some recognition or status—to be given glory.

Upon observing these pupils who were wearing extremely worn out tattered clothes—some of whom were cousins—Zhou Yan did not unleash his fatal slash.

It was not because he was incapable of murder but because the hand of the Grand Elder no longer had any concerns about his life.

However, the pupils of the Zhou family had been leaving at a rapid pace and there was very little that remained. Most of the pupils who left went to the main branch of the Zhou family, meaning the strength of the Zhou family would undoubtedly have grown to a much more powerful status!

It mattered not what Zhou Wuji had planned. At the end of the day he was still an elder of the Zhou family and had served the Zhou family for years on end.

If he perished, it would only result in a much tragic fate for these poor pupils.

This third generation of pupils had never once bullied him nor had they judged him. In most cases, they stared at him with a gaze filled with encouragement and their most sincere blessings.

Hence, Zhou Yan did not unleash his fatal strike and decided to let him live.

“Please make sure you serve the Zhou family with the best interest which would benefit the family in mind. Or else, I will return one day and the first life I reap will be yours!”

Zhou Yan scoffed as the threatening Blade’s Menace finally faded away!

Zhou Wuji was completely soaked in a cold sweat. He was instantly relieved the moment that menacing Blade’s Menace faded away.

“Rest assured. As cruel as we were, we do it for the greater good of the Zhou family! Since you’ve proven your potential and our mistakes, and seeing that we’ve come this far, then we elders truly have a lot to manage and reorganize on the matters of the family!

“Your true potential has been exposed and it was unparalleled. So rest assured that your father’s matters wouldn’t be an issue!

“However, it doesn’t matter if you’re pleased, I still have to tell you this. The main branch of the Zhou family takes talent and skill extremely seriously. If the four people you bring with you aren’t powerful or skillful enough, it’ll make them look down on the minor branch of our family! Zhou Cheng, Zhou Shuangshuang, Zhou Shan, Zhou Liang, and the others are quite talented and skillful. You should pick them!”

Zhou Wuji remained prideful as he spoke.

Zhou Yan took a single glance at the hand of the Grand Elder. The young lad calmly said, “If the Lord of the household, Elder of Lore, Grand Elder and everyone else had refused to show themselves and had instead sent you, a fool who would be willing to offend people even if it invites death, then you truly are an idiot!”

“So what if that was the case. I’ve watched them grow up with my own two eyes, so to do this for them falls in line with my responsibilities! Since I’ve already crossed you then if you have to kill me just do so as you please!”

Zhou Wuji replied without hesitation.

Zhou Yan’s gaze drifted across Zhou Cheng and the rest of the people. He then proceeded to cackle in a cold tone before he said, “There’s nothing impressive about their natural gifts, so why not pick someone from a younger generation?

“The very foundation of the main branch of our Zhou family and those major families have always been forcefully promoted before the pupils had even ascended into the realm of the Blade’s Menace, and to think they still cared about natural gifts? I’ll no longer discuss this matter with you. I’ve decided to bring Zhou Gucheng, Zhou Momo, Zhou Bi, and Zhou Yao with me. The four of them are the youngest in our family and their natural gifts had not taken shape yet, so they would have the advantage of ascending into the realm of the Blade’s Menace under the careful cultivation and care of the main branch of our family. They would be exactly like any other pupil in the main Zhou Family so no time would be wasted.

“If you guys are willing then follow me. If you’re not, then I shall go alone! I have very little words to spare so do what you must!”

Zhou Yan turned around and left as he flicked the sleeves of his clothes.

At that very moment, the four pupils who had been named by Zhou Yan knelt on the ground in unison.

Amongst these four pupils, their ages ranged between thirteen and fourteen years old. The weakest person in that group was Zhou Yao who was merely a rank three swordsman. The young lad had not even ascended into the realm of the Blade’s Cardinal.

The remaining three people in the group had ascended into the realm of the Blade’s Cardinal, but they were all still in the first rank of that realm!

To be in such a laughable realm, it would be shameful to present the four of them alongside the young lad!

“Can you actually present their progress there? Wouldn’t they be the laughing stock of the entirety of the main branch of our family?”

The Hand of the Grand Elder’s expression morphed into a bitter look as he seemed extremely frantic.

“Who dares to make fun of any of them? In the presence of me, Zhou Yan, which soul would dare do such a thing?!”

Zhou Yan turned around immediately as a wave of extremely powerful spiritual energy exploded from Zhou Yan’s body—it was extremely tense and heavy. It was an explosion of spiritual energy from the enormous Sword of the Soul. Under such immense pressure, the Hand of the Grand Elder immediately coughed up blood before he had any time to react to such power.

…

“Alright then, so be it! It pleases me to know how much of an open mind you kept to bring your brothers and sisters alongside you into the main branch of our family.

“Whatever that had happened before this was my fault and I’m unworthy of being your grandfather. I shall bend my knee as retribution to my mistakes!

“Since things have progressed to such an extent, I no longer have much to say. Just take care of yourself!”

At this very moment, Zhou Wuzhen and the others who were with him brought the Elder of Lore, Zhou Wuyan, the Grand Elder, Zhou Wuwei, and the Third Elder, Zhou Wude to face Zhou Yan. They walked in at the same time and proceeded to kneel in the face of Zhou Yan.

As they knelt, the Hand of the Grand Elder, Zhou Wuji, the third prodigal heir Zhou Cheng, and Zhou Shuangshuang also bent their knee at that moment.

At the same time, most of the remaining members of his family were all kneeling in front of Zhou Yan.

The only people that refused to bend their knees were Zhou Lingyi, Zhou Lingyao, and Zhou Xian who were standing behind the elders.

The trio were discussing something, and as they walked out the courtyard, they were greeted by this scene.

At that instant, Zhou Lingyao’s gaze was as calm as a puddle of stagnant water. Zhou Xian, on the other hand, had an extremely displeased, sinister gaze, and an aura of hatred emanated from the young lad’s body.

The only person that had somewhat of a reaction was Zhou Lingyi. Her pupils constricted slightly as she saw that scene, but the young lass stood her ground. Reflected through her gaze as she stared at Zhou Yan was a burning emotion… of a declaration of war!

‘There will come a day when you too, will be forced to bend the knee by my hand. This will be retribution for the shame you’ve caused when you made every single member of our family, including grandfather, kneel before you!’

The young lass made an oath in her heart!

Zhou Yan proceeded to look at Zhou Lingyi, and then shifted his gaze to look at the people who were kneeling in front of him. The young lad said nothing and made no attempts to ridicule these people.

The young lad turned around and calmly said, “Zhou Gucheng, Zhou Momo, Zhou Bi, and Zhou Yao. The four of you can get up now. Hurry up and get your preparations done. Meet me at the academy in a short while. Follow me to the main branch of our family, and I’ll make sure that I train and cultivate all of your skills well.”

As the young lad spoke, he had already left the scene.

However, as he left the courtyard, the young lad had finally spoken after remaining silent for some time. He said, “Zhou Cheng and Zhou Shuangshuang. As siblings, you both met up every night for contact of intimacy. You have committed a crime of incest. Such scum! How could they be allowed into the walls of the main branch of the Zhou family just to bring shame?

“Zhou Shan, Zhou Liang, and the others are all over the age of eighteen, and although their current realm is impressive, they were lacking in other attributes. Hence, there isn’t any long term potential as bringing them along would yield no drastic progress.

“The four pupils that I’ve chosen possess the possibility of mutating their Qi Columns. Their ability to gain enlightenment is impressive. They have the most potential amongst the third generation of youth in our Zhou family!

“Furthermore, Zhou Xian, you resented me this much that you intended to kill me even though I’ve never wronged you! Instead, I once took the liberty of passing you my knowledge in hopes of making you better! Your hatred stemmed from envy!

“If you’re unable to smother the flames of envy within your heart, you’ll never succeed in your lifetime!”

“Zhou Lingyao, your intentions were sinister and deep. You’re capable of doing whatever it takes in the name of becoming stronger, so I have no words for you. However, do not forget. You and I are brothers! Infighting within our family has no meaning!”

“Zhou Lingyi. I’m not guilty in the face of heaven, nor have I sinned against men! I’ve never once requested for them to bend their knees—it was done so willingly! So, your hatred—the so-called shame you feel—is unreasonable!

“Put yourself in my shoes. If you were me today, what exactly would you have done?

“I have lost my mother at a young age, and my father has been crippled. I’ve been living with the tormenting guilt I bear for my inability to succeed. The main reason why I have to relentlessly suppress my physical potential was so that I would never see the disappointment from my family and friends. However, little did I know that display of disappointment was nothing more than a facade!

“I had been shamed, never appreciated, hunted to death for a thousand miles…

“All of these will be water under the bridge after you guys have willingly bent your knees.

“Even moments before my father’s death, he has never blamed any of you, so I shall act the same way—I’ll stop blaming all of you. However, don’t mistake my forgiveness for mercy. My forgiveness was done in the name of my father whose condition was a mystery.

“With my abilities alone, slaughtering all of you will be as easy as trimming grass! However, in the name of our kinship and bloodline, I shall bury the hatchet.

“And thus, from this very moment on, I’ll have no correlation nor ties to the Zhou family. I will no longer be of relation to any of you, and all of you will have no ties to me!”

Zhou Yan let out a long sigh after speaking his mind.

The young lad had already thought about every consequence the instant he was tempted to murder the Hand of the Grand Elder. If the Hand of the Grand Elder had been murdered, the Grand Elder would not leave this matter unchecked, nor would the Elder of Lore; even the Lord of the Zhou family would never lay this matter to rest.

In the end, everyone would perish! However, the young lad did not fear such a consequence since he was more than capable of slaughter. The strongest amongst these people was merely in the first rank within the realm of the Blade’s Menace. That alone was not threatening nor powerful.

However, at the end of the day, the young lad thought about his father and reflected upon the scene where countless pupils within his family had cheered for him and were excited for him as he stood his ground in the academy. These pupils were innocent and more than anything they were adorable!

These people had never wronged him.

If every significant person of the Zhou family were dead, it would only result in the complete fracture of the Zhou family. These pupils would be forced to leave their homes, and without the care of the family, they would be exactly like drifters in the wind—one without status and would live the life of a lowly scum.

Hence, the young lad pondered about plenty of things and said everything from the very bottom of his heart.

However, this did not mean he was unable to exert dominance!

Hence, after the young lad was done speaking his mind, Silver Frost which was in the grasp of his hands, flew out with a swift ‘swooshing’ sound.

An infinite and immeasurable amount of spiritual energy was unleashed and drained directly from the enormous blade of the soul, and infused directly into Silver Frost’s body. After obtaining such an enormous amount of energy, it manifested five gigantic specters of a pale dragon!

“Roar!”

The pale green dragon emanated an immense aura of despair. It was as if this divine beast had originated from ancient days. It’s infinite menacing, raging aura stretched across the sky—display of power was undoubtedly invincible!

“Swoosh…”

The five specters of the pale dragons instantly burrowed into the young lad’s father’s courtyard.

With a thundering ‘boom’ the entire courtyard was reduced to debris.

Thus, five massive terrifying trenches appeared in that spot and it seemed as if a category nine earthquake had just occurred. The earth was heavily quaking from that single attack.

“My combat prowess exceeds three ranks and is no longer out of reach! Slaughtering all of you is as easy as trimming grass! All four Elders from the Xie family who were all incredibly powerful scholars in the realm of the Blade’s Menace along with Xie Feng had all perished with this single attack. They were all incapable of fighting back!

“And now, I believe all of you are clear with how sincere I am!”

After Zhou Yan was done talking, he turned around and left the scene for real this time.

While Zhou Yan left, this entire incident was clearly witnessed by all of the incredibly powerful scholars in the tavern outside.

Hence, Zhou Yan’s single action had gained him notoriety that would span across the land!

The young lad was finally worthy of the title of ‘true genius’ as his reputation skyrocketed instantly!

…

Within the void and in the flying ship, the elder with a full head of white hair, Elder Xing, was baffled by such a display. He said, “Can you see now? This man… His combat prowess is top-tier compared to Lord Zhou Yuntian. In all honesty,he may even destroy the latter’s natural gifts!”

“Incredible! This man, at the very least, still possessed a shred of humanity. In such a tense situation, had he made his move to murder the members of his family, it would be completely acceptable. However, he did no such thing!

“I have decided I will apologize to him.”

As Zhou Ting pondered, she finally made a decision.

“I will not apologize. It’s without a doubt that he is powerful, but from the things I’ve done, I regret nothing. Even if the fault was mine, as long as I know in my heart, that alone is enough! Why should I make him assume that we are making an effort to grow closer to him?!

“Besides, my current realm exceeds his by a longshot. I refuse to believe by my insane hard work alone I wouldn’t be in the lead! Who’s to say a person progresses faster in training because one’s Qi Column is in a perfect quality?! The more powerful a Qi Column is, the harder it is to break through the shackles of the realms. Hence, as the difficulty of his training progresses, the resources that he would spend for his training would be infinitely more than anyone!”

Zhou Yuan’s expression seemed conflicted, but he could not let go of his pride since the young lad still felt that Zhou Yan’s status was too insignificant. How could he allow an elite of the main branch of the Zhou family apologize to the likes of him?!